Illuminae (The Illuminae Files Series #1)

by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

Overview

“It certainly filled the Battlestar Galactica–shaped hole in my heart.” —Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of The Red Queen
 
Read the New York Times bestselling blockbuster that critics are calling “out-of-this-world awesome.” The first in an epic sci-fi series unlike anything else out there.
 
Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the worst thing she’d ever been through. That was before her planet was invaded. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra are forced to fight their way onto one of the evacuating craft, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
 
But the warship could be the least of their problems. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their biggest threat; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady plunges into a web of data hacking to get to the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: Ezra.
 
Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
 
“Brace yourself, because you’re about to be immersed in a mindscape that you’ll never want to leave.” —Marie Lu, author of the bestselling Legend series
 
“Prepare yourselves for Illuminae.” —EW.com
 
“You’re not in for an ordinary novel experience. . . .”  —Bustle.com
 
“A truly interactive experience. . . . A fantastically fun ride.” —MTV.com

Don't miss the rest of the series!
The Illuminae Files_02: GEMINA
The Illuminae Files_03 — title to be revealed!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780553499148
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	04/25/2017
Series:	Illuminae Files Series , #1
Pages:	624
Sales rank:	16,972
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.80(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

New York Times bestselling co-authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff met thanks to international taxation law and were shocked to discover they share a love of blowing things up and breaking hearts. Their first collaboration resulted in the international bestseller Illuminae. Separately, Amie is also the co-author of the bestselling Starbound trilogy, while Jay is the award-winning author of the Lotus War trilogy. They live with their respective spouses in Melbourne, Australia. You can learn more about Amie and Jay at amiekaufman.com and jaykristoff.com, and follow them on Twitter at @AmieKaufman and @MisterKristoff.

Editorial Reviews

Prepare yourselves for Illuminae.” —EW.com
 
“[Y]ou’re not in for an ordinary novel experience. . . .”  —Bustle.com
 
“A truly interactive experience. . . . A fantastically fun ride.” —MTV.com
 
“[O]ut-of-this-world awesome.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred 
 
“…stylistically mesmerizing.” —Publishers Weekly, starred 
 
“[A]n arresting visual experience.”—Booklist, starred 
  
“[A] game-changer.” —Shelf Awareness, starred

“Brace yourself. You're about to be immersed in a mindscape that you'll never want to leave.”  —Marie Lu, bestselling author of the Legend trilogy

“It certainly filled the Battlestar Galactica–shaped hole in my heart.”—Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of The Red Queen
 
"Genre: Undefinable. Novel: Unforgettable." —Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures & author of Unbreakable
 
“An exuberant mix of space opera, romance, zombies, hackers, and political thrills.”  —Scott Westerfeld, bestselling author of  Zeroes and Uglies
 
“Stunningly creative. Smart, funny, and romantic.”  —Veronica Rossi, bestselling author of Under the Never Sky
 
“This is one of those rare books that will truly keep your heart pounding.”—Beth Revis, bestselling author of Across the Universe
 
“This book is xxxxing awesome.” 
—Laini Taylor, bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone

From the Publisher

★ 07/20/2015
Star-crossed lovers fight for survival in this visually stunning adventure, the first in a trilogy and told through myriad documents and archived information, including instant messages, email, interview transcripts, memos, and security footage. Following a devastating attack on their home planet, Kady Grant and Ezra Mason, having just broken up, end up on different ships, part of a refugee fleet fleeing a cosmic dreadnought. Additionally, a virus is turning the survivors into bloodthirsty monsters, while one ship’s murderous AI takes extreme measures to protect the fleet. Though separated, Kady and Ezra rekindle their relationship while everything collapses around them. What starts off as a spacefaring action-romance evolves into a nerve-wracking horror story as the true scope of the situation becomes clear. Kaufman (the Starbound trilogy) and Kristoff (the Lotus War series) offer a stylistically mesmerizing tale, where story and art are interchangeable, and words act as pictures. The more experimental sections may require extra effort on readers’ parts, but the result is worth it. Ages 14–up. Agent: (for Kaufman) John Adams and Tracey Adams, Adams Literary; (for Kristoff) Matt Bialer and Lindsay Ribar, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

When Katie Grant breaks up with her boyfriend Ezra Mason, little does she realize that this will be the worst day of her life. Katie lives in a futuristic colony, Kerenza, where an illegal operation has been mining and refining a valuable commodity: hermium. When the interstellar corporation BeiTech discovers its competitor, all hell breaks loose. BeiTech sends an attack fleet to destroy every man, woman, and child in the settlement. Chaos reigns as the citizens frantically board escape vehicles. The Hypatia and Copernicus are civilian vessels that are in no way equipped to battle BeiTech’s attack ship, the Lincoln. Adding to the drama is BeiTech’s release of a biochemical Phobus Virus that turns normal people into blood-thirsty zombies. The only ship to hear the SOS from Kerenza is the Alexander. Battle scenes overpower the plot, leaving Katie, Ezra, and their friends to face some deadly challenges. Even the artificial intelligence AIDAN which guides the Alexander struggles to help the teens, whose fate lies in the hands of a dying computer. Kaufman and Kristoff create an unusual plot by piecing together interviews, briefing notes from the characters, court martial lists, personal messages, diagrams, classified and censored information, and surveillance footage. The female characters are exceptionally strong and dynamic, and the language is unique in its balance between what is strictly military and what is teenage satire. Although the action-packed drama is in the foreground, the romance between Katie and Ezra is tender and enduring. Ironically, the break-up between the two brings them together. “Centrum tenenda.” Book one in the “Illuminae Files” series. Reviewer: Patricia K. Landy; Ages 14 up.

Children's Literature - Patricia K. Landy

Kady Grant and Ezra Mason thought that breaking up was the worst thing that could happen until the ship from BeiTech appeared and opens fire on their small, ice-covered planet, Kerenza. It makes no sense because their settlement is not really legal, and no one is actually supposed to know about it or the small-time mining operation there. Before the day is over, the two teens find themselves aboard two of the three ships evacuating the few survivors and fleeing from BeiTech’s warship, Lincoln. Tested for abilities and conscripted, Ezra finds himself in an accelerated pilot program. Kady’s computer skills put her into training, but she is not recommended for conscription because she does not play well with others. The three ships are controlled by an artificial intelligence unit, AIDAN. All is not as it seems, and the AI orders the third ship to be destroyed. When a few pilots do not follow orders and save some of the survivors of the Copernicus, they are court martialed, even though the public relations memos hail them as heroes. Kady uses her skills to hack into the systems to find out the truth and uncovers more than a threat by the AI; there is a plague that has broken out and is mutating, threatening all of the personnel on the Alexander. An exciting roller-coaster ride, Ezra and Kady are characters readers will be rooting for throughout the book. The dialogue is whip-smart, sarcastic, and filled with black humor, and the device of telling the story through documents, emails, files, interviews and medical reports is highly creative. Although not overly descriptive, it is still very visual, and unfolds like all classic social science fiction. Recommend to fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Battlestar Galactica. The length is going to be a stumbling block and it will take a sales job to get it into the hands of many readers who would enjoy it the most, especially reluctant readers, so it would be an advantage to have e-books where the page length will not be noticed. This title will fly off the shelf once word of mouth starts, and it would be a great book club selection. (The Illuminae Files_01) Reviewer: Suanne B. Roush; Ages 15 to Adult.

VOYA, August 2015 (Vol. 38, No. 3) - Suanne B. Roush

06/01/2015
Gr 7 Up—Kady Grant has typical problems: school, parents, and a boyfriend she just dumped. But life spirals out of control when Kady's planet, Kerenza, is attacked by an unknown enemy. As destruction unfolds around her, Kady manages to escape her planet on one of three ships. Kady is considered lucky, with her mother on one ship and her ex, Ezra, on another. As the convoy flees Kerenza with the enemy close behind, it is clear that the problems have just begun. A deadly virus is spreading through one of the ships; AIDEN, the onboard computer of the lead ship, has gone rogue; and the enemy is in close pursuit in an attempt to destroy the last witnesses of the Kerenza catastrophe. Using a nontraditional writing style, Kaufman and Kristoff craft the narrative using illustrated screen shots of spaceship blueprints, interviews, data, and messages that make up the "Illuminae Files." Despite the minimal presence of conventional paragraphs, there is a surprisingly natural flow as elements are seamlessly woven together to create a satisfying dossier-style reading experience. The characters are immediately real and with harrowing accounts, unexpected twists, and gut-wrenching selflessness, they become even more endearing over the course of the book. While reminiscent of the works of Isaac Asimov and Orson Scott Card, this work is a distinct piece that stands alone. VERDICT A great recommendation for middle and high school science-fiction fans.—Paige Rowse, Syosset High School Library, New York

School Library Journal

★ 2015-06-23
In the wake of an interstellar incident, a post-mortem dossier comprising interview transcripts, memos, instant-messaging transcripts, diary entries, and more is assembled in this mammoth series opener. Teenage colonists and exes Kady's and Ezra's lives are rocked by the 2575 assault on the Wallace/Ulyanov Consortium's illegal mining colony by their corporate rival, BeiTech Industries. They are among the lucky ones who manage to evacuate—Kady to the science vessel Hypatia and Ezra to the United Terran Authority's battlecarrier Alexander. The latter escorts both Hypatia and the freighter Copernicus in a monthslong race to safety while pursued by a BeiTech dreadnought, one likely to win should the ships engage again. Ezra's recruited as a fighter pilot. Kady avoids conscription by flunking tests and highlighting her defiant personality, which allows her freedom to hack the ships. What she discovers disturbs her and leads her to communicate with Ezra again—both for more information and because of their unfinished business. The two teenagers—a focus of the dossier due to their sleuthing—share and uncover disturbing information about an incident with Copernicus, the damage sustained by Alexander's artificial intelligence system, and a terrifying virus. The design's creative visuals take advantage of the nontraditional format, which gracefully juggles document types, foreshadowing, clues, voices, and characters. As the characters' time runs out, the story ambushes readers with surprises. The account completes the incident's history but not its fallout. Ambitious, heartbreaking, and out-of-this-world awesome. (Science fiction. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews